Antipodean Love
by SPShipper
Summary: Craig Tucker and Tweek Tweak, of South Park fame, spend some quality time together over the course of several days. They have been dating for years and love one another dearly, but Tweek is beginning to have doubts. (Disclaimer: The last chapter and any bonus chapters will contain NSFW content. South Park and all its characters belong to Trey Parker and Matt Stone.)
1. Chapter 1- The Raven-Haired Rebel

**Chapter 1: The Raven-Haired Rebel**

Craig sighed to himself as he walked down the slightly cracked sidewalk to the bus stop, the frigid mountain air biting at his exposed skin. Thankfully, his winter hat and coat—both blue, of course—covered him and helped him stay warm. Warmer than he would have been, anyway. He kept his hands in the pockets of his coat as he walked, a lock of dark hair hanging out of his hat. Craig didn't seem to give a shit. Craig didn't give much of a shit about _anything_ , really.

He continued to travel on his way, kicking mounds of snow and watching the white powder scatter and shimmer in the dim but still noticeable sunlight, and thinking to himself, "Why do we all still take the bus anyway? Most of us are 18 now. We can drive like normal people." He then realized that using normality to talk about South Park was stupid; almost nothing in the town was normal. Atypicality was typical.

The raven-haired boy sighed again. "Maybe taking Philosophy and English is making me into a nerd," he thought.

He finally managed to reach the bus stop, waving for a second at the four boys already there. Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny. Of course they were there before him, he thought; they were always there before him. Stan and Kyle gave friendly waves in return, and Craig noticed they were standing a bit closer to each other than they were to the others. He wished those two would just get it over with and fuck already. Cartman scoffed at him and looked away. Craig hated him. Almost everyone either hated or tolerated Cartman, but he did come up with some fun ideas every now and then. Kenny, meanwhile, responded to the wave with an unintelligible "Mmph mm!", his voice muffled by his hoodie as always. Craig took his place beside the group, tapping his foot a little in boredom.

"Hey, Craig!"

A high-pitched, slightly scratchy voice came from down the street to the left. Craig looked toward the source, and a smile immediately lit up his stoic face. There he was: Tweek Tweak, waving to Craig and walking towards him. Craig's boyfriend, and one of the few things he did give a shit about. It would be safe to say he gave multiple shits about Tweek. The pale teen's messy golden hair stood up on end, and the white snow covering it once again glittered in the sun. Craig loved Tweek's hair. In fact, he often called Tweek the "golden child" when he thought of him due to the beautiful color of his hair.

Craig snapped himself out of his reverie as Tweek approached him, holding a small thermos. It was doubtless filled with coffee, but Tweek wasn't as much of a coffee lover as he used to be. A few years ago, and a few years into their relationship, Craig, with the help of the New Kid (they hadn't come up with a better name for him yet) and some other kids, had convinced Tweek's parents to slowly reduce the amount of "secret ingredient" in their coffee, weaning Tweek and the town off of it. Now he wasn't nearly as anxious or paranoid as he was, though he did still twitch and yelp often, and got nervous easily. That didn't really matter to Craig, though—if anything, he thought it was cute.

Tweek held out the thermos out to Craig as he approached, and Craig gratefully took it and sipped from it before handing it back to the golden child. Craig really liked calling Tweek that. However, he soon noticed something amiss.

"Babe, your shirt's not buttoned right."

Craig's nasal voice managed to sound rather playful and teasing, despite how monotone it usually was. Tweek looked down a small bit, and his face seemed to flush slightly (though that could just be the cold).

"S-sorry, Craig...it's still hard for me."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm happy to fix it."

Craig leaned down to reach the shorter kid and undid the offending buttons, redoing them properly. He returned to his normal position.

"Thanks, honey."

After thanking him, Tweek gave Craig a brief hug before letting go and standing next to him.

"Gaaaay!" Cartman yelled irritatingly at the couple.

Craig, naturally, glared at the morbidly obese kid and flipped him off. Kyle jumped in to defend them, stepping closer to Cartman and saying in his slightly high-pitched and sensitive voice, "Leave 'em alone, fatass!"

Stan joined in with "Yeah, dude. They've been dating for years. Get used to it already."

Kyle looked over his shoulder at Stan and nodded appreciatively. The sexual tension was obvious, at least to Craig.

Cartman looked away and muttered to himself something that sounded like, "Whatever, man. Just making a joke…"

The bus soon arrived, with a loud squeaking sound as it stopped. Craig got on, and Tweek brushed the snow out of his hair before following. The other four boys followed as well. Suddenly, Tweek let out a small yelp, louder than his usual ones, and Craig turned around to see what the issue was.

"H-hey! Someone pinched my butt…"

Craig glared at Kenny, who was standing directly behind Tweek. The hooded teen shrugged in response, starting to say something that couldn't be heard.

"Take that stupid thing off," Craig groaned. Kenny removed his hood, revealing his bright yellow hair, and shrugged again as he continued by saying, "Hey, man, be willin' to share. Sharing is caring, right? And you weally cawe about me, wight?"

"Fuck off, McCormick," Craig responded in irritation.

Kenny nonchalantly replied in his confident and sultry voice, with a hint of a Southern accent, "Whatever. I got my eyes on a different blond-haired cutie."

He wiggled his eyebrows playfully at Butters, who was sitting nearby and singing to himself. The latter smiled politely, not seeming to know what Kenny was saying.

Craig groaned and sat down. Tweek happily sat next to him. He didn't seem too affected by what had just happened —though he looked at Craig with some admiration. The bus began to move forward with a few slightly worrying engine noises, and Craig leaned back, preparing for another school day.


	2. Chapter 2- The Golden Child

**Chapter 2: The Golden Child**

Tweek walked down the school hallway, clutching his books close to his chest. The school day had been fairly boring so far, but what had happened that morning lingered in his thoughts.

"Stan and Kyle stood up for me… that was really nice. I should pay them back somehow," Tweek thought, scratching a small itch on the back of his head.

The twitchy teen found himself blushing as he recalled what Kenny had done. Tweek supposed he should be flattered by the attention, but he couldn't help but feel embarrassed. It was odd to be hit on by Kenny when he hadn't even done anything of that nature with... _Craig_...

Dear, loving Craig. Tweek sighed dreamily, stopping and leaning against a wall as he thought about his lover fixing his shirt earlier. Craig was always so caring, and Tweek was utterly smitten with him. His "raven-haired rebel", as he called him in his private thoughts. He'd never tell Craig of the nickname, of course; he'd end up screwing it up somehow and Craig would think he was weird.

Tweek sighed again, more dejectedness in it this time, and resumed walking. He soon entered the cafeteria and stood in line; since it was Tuesday, tacos were being served. However, it seemed that they were out of tacos, so Tweek resigned himself to eating a cheeseburger of rather low quality. The teenager grimaced as he grabbed one, staring down at the discolored brown meat patty, topped with a cold, pale yellow slice of cheese and sandwiched between two soggy buns.

"I'll wash it down with some coffee," the boy thought.

He walked to a table where a few of his friends were sitting and gently lowered his tray onto the table, sitting down near the end of the bench.

"Hey, Tweek!" Clyde greeted his friend happily, biting into a taco.

"Hey, man," and "H-h-hey, Tweek," Token and Jimmy chimed in.

Tweek briefly smiled at them and waved hello before absentmindedly biting into his burger. He suddenly gagged and quickly took a swig of coffee from his thermos. Jimmy couldn't help but laugh at this, but Tweek ignored him, looking around the table and noticing the absence of someone who was there almost every day.

"Hey, where's Craig?" he asked inquisitively.

"Oh, uh...I think he went outside for some reason," Clyde said through a mouthful of taco meat and shell.

Tweek was slightly depressed at that. Was it his fault? Was Craig angry at him for some reason? These thoughts and more swirled through his head.

Some time later, and with his mind still full of insecurity, Tweek rushed down the hallway. He needed to hurry if he didn't want to miss the bus again. Last time, he'd panicked and sobbed until his parents were able to get him; he hadn't gotten his license yet, and Craig hadn't been there. It was more the absence of Craig that upset him, since he was so used to seeing his boyfriend on his way home.

Tweek soon found his way outside, dashed to the bus and quickly scanned the rows of seats for his beloved. Craig raised his hand and waved slightly, and Tweek smiled brightly as he skipped to Craig and sat beside him, sliding his bag off his shoulders and placing his books inside.

"Hey, babe," Craig said nonchalantly.

Craig was always so calm and composed, the boy thought. He admired him for that.

"H-Hi, Craig! How was your day?"

Craig groaned and leaned back, just as he had that morning.

"It was shit. Stupid fuckin' Hamlet! I don't understand a word of Shakespeare."

Tweek involuntarily gasped in pity as empathy entered his mind.

"W-well, I can help! I'm good at that stuff! Maybe I could come by your house?"

Craig sat up, looking at Tweek gratefully and nodding. Tweek quickly got out his phone and texted his father, asking if he could visit Craig's house for a while. He knew he was 18 and could do what he wanted now, but he felt more comfortable telling his parents where he was, just in case there was a fire or an alien invasion or a Crab People attack. His father, of course, gave him permission; his parents had always been supportive of his relationship with Craig.

Suddenly, Kenny leaned over the back of their seat. He had apparently been sitting behind the couple, but Tweek hadn't noticed.

Kenny sped through his little speech, quickly rattling off a, "Hey, how's the cutest couple in all of South Park? Good? Good," and continuing with, "I just wanted to say sorry for bein' all creepy this morning."

Craig rolled his eyes a bit.

"Whatever, McCormick. I'm cool if Tweek is."

The golden-haired boy, startled, flinched slightly and responded with: "Me? Well...I-I guess it wasn't a big deal or anything."

Kenny grinned cheerfully at this, and leaned close to Craig, loudly whispering in his ear, "Ya gotta admit, he's got a nice ass."

Tweek yelped and his face flushed heavily as he heard this, and he quickly hid his face in his hands. Craig glared at Kenny, who raised his arms in apology.

The two soon reached their stop and exited the bus, along with the group of four that had been there that morning. Tweek smiled warmly at Stan and Kyle, walking over to them and stammering out a few words.

"Um, hey, guys...I wanted to thank you for what you did this morning."

Stan turned to the blond child and replied by saying, "What, that? It's no big deal. Cartman was being an ass anyway."

Tweek shook his head, insisting, "No, I want to pay you back. How about...oh! The next time you come by the coffee shop, you can have anything you want! Even if it's not on the menu, I'll make it! Free of charge!"

The two friends smiled widely at Tweek, unleashing a flurry of "Thanks, man"s and "You're the best"s. Tweek walked back to Craig, who lightly grabbed his hand.

Tweek's heart started beating out of his chest. It wasn't much in terms of physical contact, but the poor boy got flustered every time he and Craig touched. At least now, he was less worried that Craig was upset with him, though the doubt remained in the back of his mind. The two continued walking to Craig's house, Tweek trying to calm himself down by thinking of all the boring homework they were about to do.

It didn't work, and the golden child continued to blush as the two walked through the threshold and into the house.


	3. Chapter 3- Doubtless

**Chapter 3: Doubtless**

Craig had had a rather irritating school day. First there were the incidents with Cartman and Kenny, though they were mostly minor annoyances. Then Clyde took the last taco at lunch, and now he had to read _Hamlet_ , which he didn't understand in the slightest. Thankfully, Tweek was there to help him. Tweek always brightened up his day; oftentimes literally so because of his rather bright hair.

Craig kept his eyes on that lovely hair as the two walked through his living room; it seemed to shimmer beautifully, though that could just be a trick of the light. Craig's father waved to them from a table where he sat, admiring a painting on the wall.

"Hello there, boys!" Mr. Tucker greeted them warmly.

"Hey, Dad."

"H-hello, Mr. Tucker."

The slightly-aged man continued examining the framed picture.

"Isn't this yaoi art just great? The New Kid brought it to me today. I could make a lot of money by selling this, you know."

Craig took one look at the painting and quickly placed a hand over Tweek's eyes, grabbing his arm and gently dragging him upstairs as the coffee lover let out a small yelp.

"Gah! Craig!" Tweek cried out in surprise as Craig pulled him into his room and shut the door behind them, taking off his backpack and tossing it to the floor with reckless abandon.

"Sorry, babe. I just didn't want to ruin those innocent eyes of yours with that kinda stuff."

Tweek blushed softly and Craig stepped closer to him, lightly kissing his nose and staring into his eyes for a brief moment. Tweek's eyes were almost as pretty as his hair, like shimmering blue pools of the purest water.

"U-um, should we get to work on that play you were having trouble with?" Tweek inquired, clasping his hands together a little.

Craig, lost in Tweek's eyes, continued staring for a moment before dimly responding, "Yeah…" and stepping back.

The black-haired teenager walked to his backpack, bending down and opening it up. He dug through the mess of old papers and trash for some time before retrieving a copy of _Hamlet_ with the cover slightly ripped, then stood up and walked over to a desk near his bed. Craig pulled the comfortable wheeled chair out and sat in it, placing the book on the desk and opening it a few dozen pages in. Tweek leaned over his shoulder to read.

"I got up to this part okay, but it's so damn hard! What the hell are these people _talking_ about?!" Craig complained.

Craig had always hated Shakespeare. Tweek had once tried to read him some, but he just couldn't understand most of it. Maybe he was just stupid, but it did not click with him, and trying to read it usually made him mad. Tweek, however, loved it, as he had often told Craig; the former gasped happily as he read the page Craig was at.

"Oh! This is easy," Tweek said, a bit confidently.

Craig, slightly irritated, thought, "Don't have to rub it in…"

He couldn't say that out loud, though. Despite being much healthier than he had been when they were younger, Tweek could still be quite doubting of himself. Craig had to let him have a few advantages without making him feel guilty in order to preserve his self-esteem.

"Oh, really? Then why don't ya tell me what's happening, Mr. I-Can-Read-A-Play?" Craig said playfully, grinning to make it clear he was kidding.

"If you insist," Tweek replied in a teasing manner, sticking his tongue out.

Craig lightly poked his boyfriend's tongue, causing the latter to let out a small giggle.

The raven-haired rebel gave another warm smile and quickly continued, "C'mon, cutie pie. Let's get to it already. Sooner we get this done, sooner we can hang out for real."

Tweek leaned forward once again, Craig moving to the side slightly to give him room.

"O-okay, Craig. Well, in this scene, Polonius—he's the king's advisor—is trying to help the king find out why Hamlet is crazy. You remember: he's pretending to be crazy so he can get revenge on the king for killing his dad?"

Craig nodded to show his understanding.

"Well, Hamlet is dating Ophelia, Polonius's daughter. And they think he's crazy because Ophelia has been ignoring Hamlet like Polonius told her to, 'cause he thinks they wouldn't go well together," Tweek continued.

"Okay. So...Hamlet wrote Ophelia this letter?" Craig asked as he continued to read.

Tweek smiled at Craig's effort, nodding enthusiastically.

"Yep! The letter is one of my most favorite parts. See, he wrote her a poem: 'Doubt thou the stars are fire, doubt that the sun doth move, doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love.' He's saying that even if she's not sure of the most basic things about the world, she can always be sure he loves her."

Craig involuntarily let out a "Whoa," continuing with, "That's really pretty."

That _was_ a very romantic line, Craig thought. Maybe Shakespeare wasn't so bad...as long as he had Tweek there to translate. As he thought this, Tweek blushed again, swaying from side to side slightly.

"Y-Yeah...to be honest, that's a lot like what I feel about you, Craig," he said, speaking awkwardly and seeming embarrassed.

Craig turned toward his lover, a slight smile curling up at the corners of his mouth. He was flattered and amazed by how loving Tweek was. The boy stood up and reached toward Tweek, wrapping his fairly muscular arms around him and pulling him into a hug. Tweek let out another small cry of surprise.

"You're so sweet, babe," Craig whispered into Tweek's ear before pulling away.

"Now let's hurry up and get this done so I don't fail English and we can spend some quality time together."

The two continued to work through the play, and in a few hours, managed to get through the entire thing (taking a break near the end to eat, of course). Craig sighed and fell back in his chair so that he was leaning against the back, rubbing his forehead a bit. He was mentally exhausted from the ordeal, but he would never have gotten through it at all without Tweek, who he turned to face.

"Jeez, that took _forever_! Still, at least I don't have to worry about it, right, babe?" Craig asked, smiling at Tweek gratefully.

Tweek didn't respond. His face was lowered, and he sniffled a few times.

"...Babe? You okay?"

Craig leaned forward and gently put a hand on Tweek's shoulder, worrying for his lover. A moment later, Tweek began to sob, a few tears falling from his eyes as he squeezed them shut. This continued for a brief moment before the yellow-haired boy looked up and smiled softly, opening his mesmerizing light blue eyes. Craig stared into them once again as Tweek apologized for the outburst and stated that the ending always made him cry; Craig stood up and patted his shoulder lightly, in a show of friendliness.

"C-Craig? Can I sleep here tonight?" Tweek requested hopefully, his voice reaching a slightly higher pitch.

"Of course you can, babe. You know you're always welcome here," came the response.

Craig then opened his bedroom door, leaned out, and yelled, "Hey, Mom and Dad! Tweek's gonna stay over!"

"Okay," his father yelled back, rather uninterestedly.

At Tweek's urging, Craig then walked into his bathroom and brushed his teeth as Tweek did the same. The couple walked to Craig's fairly large bed, Craig himself lying down on the left side as Tweek took the right; the taller boy made sure they were both tucked into the blue covers before falling asleep.

Some time later, Craig was awakened as he was hit a few times in some rather sensitive areas. Wincing at the blows, he opened his eyes to see a desperately writhing Tweek. The blanket was piled on top of Craig; it had apparently been thrown off Tweek and onto him from all the flailing. Tweek then cried out in what sounded like fear and great sadness, before bolting upright as his eyes shot open.

"Whoa, babe! What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?" the blue-clad teenager spoke in quick succession, firing a series of worried and frantic words at Tweek.

"Y-yeah…" Tweek replied, looking down in sadness once again.

"Well, don't worry, Tweek. No monsters are gonna get you as long as I'm here," Craig replied, placing a hand on the other boy's cheek.

Tweek softly hugged Craig, who put the blanket back over them and relaxed, knowing that what Tweek had said earlier was true; he was sure that Tweek would always love him. The teen gently stroked Tweek's radiant golden hair, his love clinging to him tightly, and soon fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4- Brewing Storm

**Chapter 4: Brewing Storm**

Tweek yawned softly as he awakened, still tightly wrapping his arms around Craig's neck and pressing against him closely. He reluctantly let go of his boyfriend and stretched his arms above his head, turning to check the digital alarm clock on Craig's desk; it read 5:00 AM. He shrugged a bit and sleepily stood up, then grabbed his thermos of coffee from the floor next to the wall and started to walk out of the room, all the while being especially quiet so as not to wake Craig up.

As he walked, he took a swig from the thermos; however, the coffee had grown cold, and Tweek grimaced and coughed as his tongue hung out of his mouth in disgust. He walked down a flight of stairs to the kitchen, quickly turning the tap on and craning his head to drink from it, in an attempt to wash the taste out of his mouth. The teenager then poured the thermos into the sink, washing it out and beginning to make a fresh pot of coffee. The familiar bubbling sounds of brewing coffee emitted from the machine; they always comforted Tweek a bit, though obviously not as much as his dear lover.

Tweek sighed, placing an elbow on the counter and holding his arm vertically, then resting his cheek on his hand. No matter what, it seemed that his thoughts always drifted to Craig, but he knew—or thought he knew—that Craig could never truly love someone like him. He thought back to yesterday, when he had mentioned the poem in _Hamlet_. Craig had hugged him and told him he was sweet, but he hadn't said those few words that would have alleviated Tweek's doubts.

Craig had not said "I feel that way about you too."

That was part of the reason he had cried after they finished; the ending usually did make him sad, but the tears came from his fear that Craig did not love Tweek the way that Tweek loved him. Craig not sitting with him at lunch had caused dark clouds to form in his mind. Now, as the coffee brewed, a storm also began to brew within Tweek, growing stronger, and the dark shroud of doubt and despair hung over him.

A sudden beep from the coffee machine snapped Tweek back to reality, and he removed the full pot from it, grabbing a white mug from a cabinet. With shaky hands, he poured the hot coffee into the mug. Some of it splashed onto his hand, and he winced, crying out in pain and dropping the cup onto the floor. With a loud crash, it shattered, and the mortified boy covered his mouth with two hands. He fell to the floor on his knees, the sobs escaping his mouth muffled by his hands, and desperately grabbed at a roll of paper towels on the counter. He began to rip paper towels off of it, frantically trying to clean up the spilled coffee as his tears dripped onto the floor; luckily, he soon managed to clean it all up. Throwing away the soaked and brown-stained paper towels, he grabbed a broom and dustpan and quickly swept up the broken porcelain pieces, disposing of them as well.

The innocent teenager retrieved another identical white mug, setting it on the counter this time and carefully pouring the coffee into it. Taking a sip and a deep breath, he seemed to calm down a bit and quietly walked to the bathroom. Tweek took another sip of coffee before setting the mug onto the counter and grabbing a toothbrush from a plastic container nearby. Craig's family always kept a spare toothbrush and various other household items for him, and Tweek's family did the same for Craig. He briefly looked over several tubes of toothpaste before deciding to use the bright fruit-flavored kind. He knew it was meant for younger kids, but it tasted great, and he didn't see why adults had to miss out.

After brushing his teeth, the yellow-haired teen grabbed some mouthwash, measured it out, and poured it into his mouth. He swirled it around, staring at himself in the mirror. His hair was even messier than usual, and he looked a bit haggard, with bags under his eyes despite the coffee he had drunk. The nightmare had kept the poor boy from being able to sleep well; Tweek shuddered as he thought back to the awful dream, remembering it vividly.

He had been lying in an empty black void that seemed to go on forever. He was curled up in the fetal position and surrounded by dark figures, with no one else in sight. Suddenly, a bright light had invaded the edges of his vision; a figure standing in a sphere of light was walking towards him. As it got closer, Tweek was able to determine the identity of the figure. It was Craig! Surely Craig would save him! As the black-haired teenager walked closer, however, he looked down at Tweek, scoffed, and walked away, leaving Tweek alone in the empty, isolated darkness.

Tweek was almost crying just thinking about it. He suddenly realized that he had kept the mouthwash in his mouth for too long, and the strong mint was stinging his gums. He spit it out and gasped for breath (as he had been holding his mouth shut) before picking up the mug and returning to the kitchen. Tweek poured himself a bowl of cereal and sat down to eat; about halfway through his bowl, he heard a knock at the door.

Glancing up, Tweek walked to the door and opened it. It was Jimmy, dressed in his Fastpass costume and panting a bit.

"Greetings, brave hero! It is I, F-F-Fastpass!"

Tweek was a bit overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of his costumed friend, but tried to respond in kind anyway.

"Uh, Fastpass! What's the news, my...brother-in-arms?"

Jimmy gave a friendly smile.

"The city's under attack, Wonder Tweek! I have to say, I didn't expect to see you here, but it saves me a trip. Qu-quickly, get your costume on and tell Super Craig to do the same. Be prep...pr-pr-prepa...pr-...ready to fight!"

Tweek nodded, and Jimmy gave a salute and ran off at an incredibly high speed. The golden child's heart skipped a beat as he rushed to put on the simple costume that allowed him to wield his weather powers.

"This is my chance!" he excitedly thought to himself. "If I help Craig and do a good job fighting...maybe I can fix things!"

Tweek rushed to the bedroom, grabbing Craig's shoulder and shaking him. Craig's hat had fallen off as he slept, and the black hair that Tweek loved so much was tousled by the movement. However, his beloved continued to sleep, drooling a bit. After thinking for a moment, Tweek let out a loud scream, causing the sleeping boy to open his eyes and fumble around before falling off the bed.

"Ahhhh! Sorry, Craig!"

Tweek rushed over and helped Craig up; the latter rubbed his head and gave a sleepy smile to the former.

"It's fine, babe…your hair looks cute."

Tweek blushed softly and stared at Craig's emerald green eyes. Sometimes he felt that he could just stare into those glittering eyes forever.

"Why'd ya wake me up, anyway?" Craig asked, putting the large comforter that he had dragged down with him back onto the bed.

"Oh! U-um, you gotta get your costume on, quick! We're under attack!"

With a quick exclamation of "Shit!", Craig hurriedly ran through the house. Within a few minutes, he got his even simpler costume on, wolfed down a donut, and brushed his teeth (once again at Tweek's request). The two were soon out the door and running toward the town square, where they could see the faraway silhouettes of several of their flying fellow heroes firing blasts at some unseen entity below.


	5. Chapter 5- Under My Protection

**Chapter 5: Under My Protection**

Craig ran toward the town square with Tweek in tow and panted softly. He clenched his hands into fists as he ran, mentally preparing himself to fight whatever the attackers might be; he was uncharacteristically nervous. Not for himself, of course- Craig was confident in his own ability- but for Tweek. Tweek wasn't as strong as Craig was, and though his powers could do some decent damage, they were mostly supportive in nature- not to mention he was rather frail. If his boyfriend was targeted by whatever they would be fighting, he could be seriously hurt. Craig had to make sure that didn't happen.

The young hero glanced over at his companion, who was starting to slow down, hunch over, and breathe deeper. He was clearly getting tired. Craig got in front of Tweek and stopped running, leaning forward slightly.

"Here, get on my back. I'll carry you," he offered.

"Oh! Um, are you sure? I might be too heavy…" Tweek replied; he had stopped shortly after Craig did.

"Babe, it's fine. Now c'mon."

Tweek walked toward Craig and climbed onto his back. Craig helped hoist his love up and grabbed his legs, and the latter wrapped his arms around the stronger boy's neck.

"You good, babe?"

"Yeah...thanks."

Craig gave a smile in return and took off running, as Tweek cried out in surprise and some fear.

Thankfully, the two managed to reach the town square unharmed. Noticing a few of their classmates standing on a nearby building, they rushed over to it.

"Hmm...It'll be tough to get up there," Craig thought aloud as he stared up towards the superheroes atop the building.

"I might have an idea, Craig! On 3, jump super high, okay? High as you can!" Tweek responded.

He sounded almost excited. Craig noticed that and thought it was a bit strange, but decided to ignore it for now. The teenager hoisted his passenger up again, in order to make sure he was safe and secure.

"Got it," Craig said, as he nodded to show he understood.

"Okay! One, two...three!" Tweek called, tightening his grip slightly.

Craig kneeled in preparation as the count started, then leaped with all his strength. He shot upward through the air and soon reached the peak of his jump; however, he noticed that they were only about halfway up the building. Craig felt and heard Tweek lift one of his arms off his neck, gesture upward, and grunt with exertion. A strong updraft blew below the two, pushing them upward and to the top of the building, where they landed gently. Craig set his lover down.

"Wow, we did it!" Tweek cried excitedly.

The dark-haired boy gave a smile of pride and responded, "Yeah! You did great, babe!"

This was not a lie to make him feel better; Craig was being entirely honest. Neither of them could have made it on their own, and of course, it would have been impossible without their outfits on; the heroes' costumes granted them their powers, though no one knew why.

Craig stopped musing and snapped to attention as Fastpass approached them.

"Super Craig, Wonder Tweek, thank G-G-God you're here!"

Tweek stepped a short distance back, then to the left and behind Craig, who stepped forward to address his friend.

"What's the situation here, Fastpass?"

The costumed hero pointed at the edge of the building. The couple walked toward the edge and leaned over it slightly, and Tweek gasped as they saw the sight below.

"Goddamn fuckin' Crab People!" Craig yelled.

The square was full of small formations of the anthropomorphic crabs. The couple could see the Human Kite flying above them as he fired eye lasers at the enemies below, and various other heroes fighting on the ground. Fastpass walked up behind them.

"M-Mysterion led them here earlier, saying he was taking them to our leader. They tried to attack once they got here, but we were ready to ambush them. Tupperware and I helped evacuate the mayor and her staff to a safe place."

Craig nodded and responded, "Good thing Professor Timothy's strategies are so eff...eff...what's the word, babe?"

"Effective? Efficient? Efficacious?" Tweek offered.

"Yeah, one of those."

"A-anyway," Fastpass said, in a slightly impatient manner, "you two should get down there. I can take you if you hold on tight enough."

Craig hopped onto his friend's back, and in a blur of motion, he was on the ground. Fastpass rushed around and up the building, then back down again in several circles. He set Tweek down, then ran into the mob of invaders to fight.

Craig looked over at his partner, asking, "You ready?"

"Y-yeah…" came the response from Tweek, "but, um, can we do the thing first?"

Craig knew exactly what he meant. Tweek had referred to himself as the "champion of justice" when they were younger, and once they started dating, he had asked Craig to also come up with a title so they could announce themselves before fighting. He had been humoring Tweek at first, but now he had gotten used to it and even began to enjoy the sense of partnership it brought.

Craig nodded and assumed a fighting stance, holding his fists out at his sides. He saw his lover take a similar position, with his right arm facing upward and his left arm facing left, and a small wind blew back both the heroes' hair; Craig assumed that was done to make their entrance more dramatic.

"I am Wonder Tweek, champion of justice! I will right wrongs and triumph over evil- and that means you!"

"And I am Super Craig, vanquisher of the wicked! I will protect the innocent and defeat anyone who would hurt them!"

"Prepare to die, villains! Together, we are unstoppable!" they both cried in unison.

Craig immediately charged forward into a formation of Crab People with his head down and slammed his head up against a group of them. His powerful headbutt attack sent the enemy flying backwards and into the waiting fists of Captain Diabetes, who had been standing behind the group.

"Well thtruck, Thuper Craig! I loved the thpeech. A truly inthpiring dithplay of heroithm!"

"Yeah, whatever, thanks," Craig responded dismissively.

As the Captain ran off to fight another group, a rather large Crab Person dashed toward Craig and raised its claw to strike. The hero raised his right arm above his head in an attempt to shield himself from the blow, but the blow never came. He looked up at the Crab Person; several large spikes of ice were sticking out of it, and ice was rapidly spreading around its hard shell, freezing it in place. It was then blasted back by a Mega Fist Punch, which was accompanied by Craig yelling the name of his attack, as he often did.

He then turned to smile at the one who saved him.

"Appreciate it, Tweek."

"Of course! Don't worry, I've got you! And n-now it's my turn to show you what I can do!"

Tweek smiled softly and raised his hands above his head as they became surrounded with crackling lightning; he brought his arms down, holding them perpendicular to his body, and yellow lightning bolts struck the group of evil creatures from the sky, causing several of them to collapse.

Tweek let out a small high-pitched giggle before teasingly saying, "That's whatcha get for trying to hurt my Craig!"

Craig smiled at him proudly, but then gasped as he saw a Crab Person approach Tweek, poised to attack.

"Babe, look out!" he yelled.

The weather-bender looked to his side and cried out in fear when he saw the attacker. Craig desperately threw himself toward the monster, tackled it, and began grappling with it. The two fought for some time before the boy managed to bludgeon it to death with his deadly fists. He climbed off the body, and a sharp pain spread through his body; he winced and grabbed at his hip.

"Ah, shit! I musta hurt myself…"

Tweek gasped and quickly swirled his hands around each other in a circle. Jets of water appeared near his hands and swirled with them, then formed themselves into a ball as he made a circle with his hands. Tweek pushed his hands toward Craig, and the water flowed towards him and around his body. Craig let out a sigh of relief as the water ran over him; it felt warm and gentle, and his wounds began to close themselves, clear up, and clot.

"I-I'm sorry! If I had looked out more, you wouldn't have gotten hurt!" Tweek wailed.

Craig smiled reassuringly and responded, "Don't worry, honey. I'm fine. Now let's show these assholes not to fuck with Super Craig and Wonder Tweek, huh?"

"Y-yeah...yeah, let's do it!" the blond-haired hero cried excitedly, his hands blazing with lightning and ice.

Craig grinned and took a fighting stance again. He took a deep breath and inwardly steeled himself.

The heroes continued their fight against the hordes of invaders. The Crab People's forces seemed endless, but everyone kept fighting to the best of their ability- even Mysterion and Professor Chaos, normally enemies, fought side by side against the enemy that threatened their home.

Craig and Tweek were so in sync, it seemed that they were operating with the same heart and mind. The former dealt crushing blows and drew the Crab People's attacks, while the latter kept his partner healed and blasted foes with the power of the elements.

As the lengthy battle raged on, Craig had only one thing on his mind. He couldn't let his beloved- his golden child- be vulnerable again. He had to protect Tweek. He _would_ protect Tweek, at any cost. Another wave of enemies swarmed in, and Craig sighed to himself.

Suddenly, he heard Tweek cry out, "C-Craig! Oh God, agh! Help!"

He immediately snapped his head around. Tweek was being attacked by a group of enemies and desperately trying to fend them off, but failing. The Crab People were quite close to him.

The raven-haired rebel swore under his breath and quietly said, "Damn...too many to fight…"

He realized he only had one option if he was going to save his boyfriend. He had been practicing his Shining Hate Finger ability in an attempt to get it to work on multiple enemies, and it was now the only way to divert the enemy for long enough to allow everyone to defeat them before they hurt Tweek. He raised his arms into the air and extended both of his middle fingers.

"Hey, asshats! Come and get me! C'mon!"

The Crab People attacking Tweek stopped moving and turned to look at him, then swarmed toward him to attack. A shield-shaped field of energy appeared around Craig to protect him from their attacks, but he knew it wouldn't last long. As their blows struck the shield, making "tink" noises, Craig balled his hands into fists again.

The shield soon shattered, and Craig began desperately punching at the enemies all around him. He could hear other heroes' attacks as well, but the horde still seemed infinite in number. A hit from one of the Crab People landed on the back of his head, and he felt his knees give out as his vision went black.


	6. Chapter 6- The Storm Cometh

**Chapter 6: The Storm Cometh**

 **(Warning: This chapter contains angst and a brief mention of self-harm.)**

Tweek sighed with relief as the enemy shifted their attention from him to Craig. As they attacked his shielded partner, he blasted them with lightning, and other heroes began attacking the large group. Their forces seemed to thin, but there were still far too many of them. Tweek scratched his arm nervously, worrying for his love, but continued to attack the enemy as best he could.

Tweek gasped as the shield collapsed and he saw his boyfriend collapse from a hard blow. The Crab People took advantage of their opponent's vulnerability by surrounding him and raining blows down on him. He covered his mouth with his hands, just as he had in the kitchen when everything seemed to be going wrong.

"C-Craig...no…" the boy whispered, his voice full of anguish.

He thought back to the earlier moments of the battle. The weather-wielding hero had felt so happy knowing he helped Craig meet up with their allies. Then he and his partner had fought together. They had fought _as one_ , skillfully combining their powers to defend their home from the monsters.

Tweek was proud that he was able to step up and protect the people who mattered to him. He had done something right; he had taken the first steps to prove himself to Craig.

And then, he had thrown it all away.

He knew it was unlikely that Craig would come out of this unscathed. He could even die. Even if he did manage to escape without permanent damage, Craig would never love him again, not after he had been let down like this; they would probably never even talk again.

Craig would hate him, and it would be all his fault. He hadn't done enough to help Craig, hadn't been strong enough to defend himself. He had failed.

The storm inside Tweek began to strengthen once again. Those dark clouds of doubt that enveloped his mind and obscured his sight, preventing him from seeing how things truly were, swirled and roiled more violently. He squeezed his eyes shut once again as rain began to fall from the clouds and manifested itself as tears of despair.

Mysterion briefly stopped fighting and glanced upward as thunder boomed in the distance. He then noticed Wonder Tweek standing still, sobbing aloud. He could see clouds on the horizon- far away, but quickly approaching.

Suddenly, Professor Chaos came flying backwards and into a wall. His lip was bleeding, and his tinfoil helmet had been knocked off, revealing his light yellow hair. Kenny approached him and kneeled down to look at the injured teenager.

"Damn, I don't have any healing items," he said in his deepened fake Mysterion voice.

He saw an opportunity here. He reached up to his mask, removed it and narrowed his eyes flirtily.

Returning to his normal voice, he said, "Maybe I can kiss it better instead."

Butters blushed softly and nodded, and Kenny leaned forward and kissed his wounded lips before pulling away. He put his hood back on and helped the professor do the same with his helmet, then resumed staring at Tweek.

The golden child's crying became louder, and the clouds on the horizon got noticeably closer. The inward storm continued to swirl, propelled by winds of self-loathing that allowed the tempest to form.

"I-i-it's not fair," Tweek choked out, his voice interrupted by sobs. "He's good and sweet and brave...he deserves better than some screw-up like me."

The wind in the area began to pick up. At this point, the clouds had blown to the square and were now gathering above the heroes, swirling ominously. The Human Kite and Mosquito quickly landed on the ground and took shelter under an awning. The Crab People stopped fighting and looked up at the shroud above; they seemed nervous, though it was hard to tell.

Professor Timothy used his telepathic powers to transmit "Clearly Tweek is causing this. We've got to calm him down before this storm gets worse," into the others' minds.

"I got it!" the Coon yelled as he rushed forward, his claws glinting.

"Cartman, no!" Human Kite yelled, but it was too late to stop him.

Cartman soon reached Tweek, dived on him, and prepared to slash at his face.

"Heh, sorry, Tweek. I guess ya could say I really _stole your thun_ \- GAH!"

The masked antihero cried out in pain as lightning blasted from Tweek's hands and towards him. He fell onto the ground and Tweek stood up, shaking and with gritted teeth. Rain began to fall from the clouds above.

"Y-you were awful to Craig…you tried to fight him and hurt him because you were jealous! You couldn't stand that he was strong and kind and had _friends_ , when you weren't!"

A strong wind blew through the square, lightning crackled, and thunder boomed, significantly closer now; lightning and thunder also flashed in the poor boy's mind, fueled by his rage. The Crab People seemed paralyzed, their primitive minds unable to comprehend Tweek's raw emotion. Whimpering with pain, Cartman quickly crawled back to shelter.

Lightning soon began striking in the square itself; great heat, ear-piercing thunder, and the smell of burning air followed each strike. The bolts fell onto the enemy, gales blew them about, and the rain reached torrential rates, as Tweek continued to sob and tightly clench his fists. Every perceived failure over the past few days, and ones from even further in the past, coursed through his head.

The storm raged, both within and without.

The Freedom Pals huddled under the awnings and watched the destructive force wipe away the remaining enemies. It seemed that the lightning bolts were deliberately avoiding Craig's unconscious body.

"Nobody's...gonna...hurt him!" Tweek shouted angrily.

The golden child snapped his head to the right and stared piercingly at Cartman. His normally gentle blue eyes were hateful and full of rage.

"Nobody!"

A powerful gust of wind blew perpendicular to the group of heroes, and a few of them- the Coon, Professor Chaos, Tupperware, and Mosquito- were blown out into the driving rain. Lightning bolts began to strike near them, each bolt getting closer.

Tweek raised his hands to the sky and screamed, "Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow! You cataracts and hurricanes, spout till you have drenched our steeples...And thou, all-shaking thunder, smack flat the thick rotundity of the world!", his words carried away by the howling wind.

Clyde began sobbing and cried out, "I'm scaaaaaared!"

Butters soon joined him.

A lightning bolt directly hit Cartman, and he screamed in pain once again.

Tupperware placed a hand on the side of his helmet and stated, "Scanning…"

After a brief moment, he continued, "Tweek's heart rate has accelerated greatly. His emotional state is composed of 20% anger, 35% sadness, and 45% self-hatred. Most likely explanation: he blames himself for Craig being hurt."

Clyde and Butters attempted to crawl back under the awning, but a stray lightning bolt struck the former as he tried to move away.

"Ha! You totally got fucked, Clahde- ow!" yelled Cartman, cut off by a punch in the arm and a glare from Token.

Tweek gasped as his friend began to cry and scream in pain; his mind began to clear.

"Clyde! I'm so sorry...I-I didn't mean to hurt you!"

By now, Butters had managed to reach the shelter of the awning again. Token Cartman, and Clyde stayed where they were, as they assumed the danger had passed for a moment. The lightning bolts stopped falling.

Still sniffling a bit, Clyde responded, "Gah...it's okay, Tweek. I'll be okay. But you gotta stop this storm before you hurt anyone else!"

"But, i-it's too strong! I don't know if I _can_ stop it...I'm just gonna mess it up and hurt people, like I always do!"

"Craig's vital signs are stabilizing…" Token murmured under his breath.

"I can't let anyone hurt Craig, especially not me," Tweek spoke tearfully.

A large cloud floated above him, and a harsh light shone thunder boomed ominously from it. It seemed that lightning would soon strike from the cloud.

"Enough of this shiiiit!" Cartman whined. "I'm takin' you down!"

The raccoon-themed fighter growled and pounced toward the vulnerable Tweek, but his charge was met with a stunning blow to his face. Tweek, having braced for the attack from Cartman, glanced up when it did not come.

Craig was standing in front of him, breathing heavily. His hat had been blown off his head by the wind, and his dark hair was slick and wet.

"Don't you fucking _dare_ touch my Tweek, fatass."

He turned to Tweek, his face set stoically in an expression of determination, and tackled him to the ground, away from the cloud, just as a lightning bolt fell from it. Craig stood up and helped Tweek do the same.

"Your hair looks nice, all sleek and fallen from the rain," he said, his voice hoarse.

Tweek tightly wrapped his arms around Craig, and the latter winced in pain.

"S-sorry, Craig…" Tweek mumbled shamefully.

"It's fine, babe. But you gotta stop this storm, quick."

"I don't know if I can, but I'll try."

Tweek shut his eyes and focused. The clouds soon began to part, and the familiar smell that often fills the air after rain falls pervaded the area. The Freedom Pals cheered and walked out from under the shelter. Craig smiled at Tweek, but then let out a loud gasp of pain and fell to his knees. The nervous teen held him tightly as he fell forward and passed out again. A wave of exhaustion hit Tweek and he fell onto his knees as well.

"D-damn it, that storm really took a lot out of me...I'm sorry, Craig. I...screwed up again…" he mournfully whispered before collapsing onto the ground.


	7. Chapter 7- Petrichor

**Chapter 7: Petrichor**

Craig slowly awakened from the deep world of slumber he had been in. He kept his eyes closed, as fatigue still had a hold on him. However, his other senses, dulled by sleep, gradually returned. He felt something soft below him- a bed and a pillow, most likely.

He began to remember what had happened before he woke up, but only vaguely- a dream, perhaps. Yes, it was a dream. He had been fighting something, a group of some kind of monster- Crab People. He remembered that he was fighting alongside Tweek. Then, he was hurt, and Tweek had done...something, something with his powers. Yes, that was it: he had created a powerful storm, and Craig had stopped Cartman from attacking him.

He sat up and opened his eyes. He was lying in his bed, in his room, and the door was shut. It was then that Craig realized his head hurt- badly. He winced and rubbed his forehead with his right hand, and as he moved his hand back down, he saw that his knuckles were bruised and the back of his hand was crisscrossed with small cuts which had clotted and scabbed over.

"Okay, so it wasn't a dream," he thought, then immediately followed that thought with, "Shit...is Tweek okay?"

He thought back to how a cloud had been above his boyfriend's head, just about to blast lightning onto him, before Craig saved him. Maybe Tweek had been so upset because of his injury that he wasn't able to focus his powers; after all, that boy wouldn't hurt himself or his friends deliberately over something so small.

"At least, I don't _think_ he would…" he thought.

He began to hear voices drifting from outside his door. Leaning closer and craning his head to hear better, he was able to recognize the voice currently speaking: it was Kyle.

"My turn to check in on him, right?"

Another voice- Stan's- replied with, "Yep. I'm gonna go check on Tweek."

Nervous thoughts of, "Check in on Tweek? Is he hurt?" entered Craig's head.

"Okay. You know, Stan, it's good that you're taking care of him next."

"What do ya mean?" Stan asked; Craig noticed he sounded a little confused, and perhaps embarrassed as well.

"Tweek's sensitive, and he needs someone sensitive to talk to him. You're like that, y'know? Sensitive and...gentle."

Craig rolled his eyes and cupped a hand to his mouth to make his voice louder, then yelled, in a voice hoarse from sleep, "Just kiss already, you fags!"

The door was opened by Kyle, who shot back, "Says the actual gay guy."

"At least I'm honest about it."

Kyle looked back toward Stan, who waved in a friendly way and exited the house. The ginger-haired boy then approached the bed. Craig dramatically fell back onto the pillow and put a hand to his forehead.

"Give it to me straight, doc! How long do I have?" he overacted, his weakened voice remaining in its typical monotone.

"Oh, shut up. You're gonna be fine. You've been out for a couple days now, but your injuries are healing well."

Craig softly grinned and asked, "Guess those Crab People really did a number on me, huh?"

"Yep. I'm impressed you got up and fought after a beating like that."

"Well, y'know...had to protect Tweek," Craig answered, bluntly and honestly.

Kyle gave a knowing nod and offered Craig a glass of water that had been sitting on his bedside table.

"Here. Your voice is all hoarse."

Craig snatched it out of his hand and gulped down the contents. He sighed with relief and happiness as it passed his lips; the clear water hydrated his parched throat and lips and returned some of his energy as it flowed through him. To someone who had not drank anything for a few days, it was like life-giving manna. Craig set the cup back in Kyle's hand.

"Ahh. That is some damn good H20, Broflovski. Now, do me a favor and fill me in on what happened after I got the shit knocked out of me, since I've determined that that wasn't a dream," he requested in a slightly sarcastic polite tone, his voice no longer scratchy.

"What a keen deductive mind you have," Kyle sardonically answered.

"Anyway," he continued, "Tweek started crying and made this giant storm that just destroyed the rest of the Crab People. But then it didn't stop. Cartman tried to attack him and got blasted with lightning"- here he gave a small laugh- "and Tweek got pissed and started attacking him. He accidentally hurt Clyde- who's doing fine, by the way; I was just with him- and started saying he 'wasn't gonna let anyone hurt you, especially him'. Then this big cloud went over him, Cartman tried to attack again, and...well, you know the rest. He collapsed just after you did. And, this might be important: Token said he probably blamed himself for you getting hurt."

Craig gave a sharp intake of breath, shocked. _Had_ Tweek been intending to hurt himself with that storm cloud?

"Shit, man...so Tweek got hurt too?"

"Yeah," Kyle said, a bit sadly.

"Well, is he okay?" Craig worriedly asked, starting to sweat a little due to nervousness.

"I don't know, other people have been checking on him. Stan went there just now, as you heard."

"I'm going to see-" the bedridden teenager stated, but he was cut off as he sat up, a sharp pain lanced through his ribs, and he cried out.

"Not in this condition, you're not. You're still hurt and you have to get your rest," Kyle firmly admonished.

He then lightly pushed Craig back into his lying-down position.

"Don't worry, Stan knows what he's doing. Tweek is gonna be fine. Now here, take this medicine."

Kyle handed Craig a small plastic cup of purple liquid from the bedside table.

"It'll help you sleep, which you need right now. And these acetaminophen pills…"

He retrieved a white medicine bottle from his pocket, undid the top, and poured two red circular pills into the palm of his right hand. He offered them to his patient.

"Will help with any headaches you're having."

Craig popped the pills into his mouth and swallowed them with some difficulty. They tasted sterile and bland. He then tipped the plastic measuring cup into his mouth and grimaced as the poor attempt to make half-decent grape-flavored medicine went down his throat.

"So what now, doc?"

"Now, you try to sleep. It'll help your body heal."

Craig groaned and glared at his caretaker, then responded in an irritated tone, "You think I'm gonna be able to _sleep_ when I don't know if Tweek's okay?"

Kyle sighed, leaned forward, and rested his face against his palm.

"Okay, fine. Let's talk," he said, his voice slightly annoyed.

"Talk? Why?"

"It's not like you have anything else to do, and maybe it'll help pass the time until you can get to sleep."

"Ugh...fine, Broflovski, I'll humor ya. What should we talk about?"

"Oh, thank you for deigning to grant me your precious time, your majesty," Kyle answered in a sarcastic and overexaggerated British accent.

"Anyway, I don't know...how did you and Tweek start dating, again? I can't remember."

"Oh, the usual. Boy 1 meets boy 2, boy 1 and boy 2 fight to settle someone else's issue, boy 1 becomes friends with boy 2, town thinks they're gay and they're forced to date, stage fake breakup, boy 2 shows kindness to boy 1, boy 1's dad gives inspiring speech, and they realize they actually do wanna date. Isn't that how everyone does it?" Craig answered, giving a sly smile as he ran through his story.

"If only. It'd be more interesting than all the stupid drama and gossip Wendy tells us about. Still, you can't really hate someone like Wendy. She has this integrity to her."

"Integrity, huh? Is our widdle Kyle in a love triangle?" Craig smiled again.

"No! Not that it's any of your business, anyway...you know, Stan says I have that integrity too."

Craig noticed that Kyle seemed to be blushing slightly as he said this. He couldn't stop himself from grinning.

"Well, ya may be an asshat sometimes, Broflovski, but you're not a bad guy or anything. Stan's probably right."

"Well...well, thank you, Craig! A rare example of kindness from you," Kyle exclaimed happily, his speech reaching a higher pitch than normal as a smile appeared on his face.

"Don't mention it. But don't get used to it, either," Craig lightly warned, pointing his finger towards the other teenager for emphasis.

"Mm," Kyle responded to show he understood.

"So, you said Tweek showed you kindness, right? What did he do?"

Craig smiled as his eyes drifted to the ceiling and he recalled that fateful day.

"Oh, he came into my house and went into the backyard, where I was. He said that by staging that fake breakup, I had helped him be braver and stand up for himself, or something like that. And then- I'll never forget it-" he laughed to himself, "he said, 'I want to fix whatever's hurting you now.' That's when I knew Tweek was...special."

"So you love him because he's so compassionate?"

"Yeah, of course."

"I suppose that makes sense...someone so apathetic needs someone emotional to help them stay in touch with their own emotions. And an emotional person like Tweek needs someone to ground him when his emotions run away with him," Kyle mused, his voice a little distant as he assumed a thinking pose.

This was met with a venomous, "Hey now! Don't go analyzing all the ins and outs of my relationship," from Craig.

"I'm just looking at it logically…of course, you can't be totally dependent on each other. If you want my advice-"

"I don't, but I get the feeling you're gonna say it anyway."

"-Then I would say you need to help each other to stand on your own. You need to be able look at things emotionally when Tweek isn't there. And likewise, Tweek needs to be able to calm himself down when you aren't there. I mean, if he causes a storm like that again and you can't help-"

He was cut off by Craig glaring and saying, "That's _not_ gonna happen, Broflovski," before sighing and continuing, "But you're probably right," concedingly.

"That's usually the case. Anyway, are there any other reasons you love Tweek so much?"

"Of course, dumbass. He's smart, he helps me out a lot, he's super cute when he gets all embarrassed...and he makes great coffee," the bedridden one chuckled.

He then let out a rather long yawn. Craig grinned and scratched the back of his head.

"Guess you're getting pretty sleepy," Kyle teased, smirking slightly.

"I am not-"

The raven-haired rebel was cut off as his eyes suddenly closed and he fell back onto his pillow. Fatigue overtook Craig once again, and he returned to a deep sleep. His mouth opened, and he began snoring quite loudly and drooling slightly. Kyle smiled and readjusted Craig's hat, which had been knocked askew.

"Sleep well, our beloved moron," he playfully said before quietly walking to the doorway, slowly opening the door, exiting the room, and carefully shutting the door behind him.

Craig's sleep was once again dreamless. Not even blackness stole into his vision; all he felt was that oddly peaceful nothingness that comes with slumber.

Some time later, Craig slowly lifted his heavy eyelids. He let out a loud yawn and instinctively reached to his side to grab Tweek and pull him close, but his hands met only an empty bed. The memories came flooding back again; Tweek wasn't there, and was probably hurt.

The boy was distracted as he heard a familiar voice from his bedside: sultry and confident, with a faint Southern drawl.

"Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey! Good morning, sleepyhead."

It was Kenny, who was now leaning over Craig and grinning.

"Ugh...what the fuck are you doing here, McCormick?" the latter groaned.

"S' my turn to check on you. Now don't be so mean. I know seeing this pretty face-"

He was cut off by a groan and a, "Shut the fuck up. Is Tweek okay?"

"I dunno...I think Butters is with him. But, uh, Kyle went out to meet up with Stan just after I got here. He said he'd be back soon."

The recently awakened teenager breathed a sigh of relief. Stan would probably tell Kyle how Tweek was doing, and then he could ask Kyle. This thought relieved some of his worries.

"Okay, fine, McCormick. What do I do now?"

"Oh, uh…" Kenny stammered, ruffling his hair slightly, "Kyle said your injuries have mostly healed. He could stop treating you now, but he said it'd be better for you to rest for another day or two."

Craig rolled his eyes and sighed, "Ugh. Great. Just great. Guess I gotta talk to you now."

"Ya seem pretty bothered about Tweek, Tucker," responded the blond boy, who leaned back against the wall with one foot pressed against its surface and put his hands in the pockets of his hoodie.

"No shit, Sherlock."

"Welp...I got some advice for ya. Now, this might be a little bit tough for ya to get- it's a hard concept- but I would say-"

He leaned forward slightly and raised his voice.

" _Talk to him_!"

"What?"

"Look, man, ya know all that kinky shit I'm into? And don't pretend like ya don't- I saw you snoopin' through my closet when you came to buy cigarettes from me. I'm not just goin' around doing whatever I want to people. The key word in all that bondage and stuff is always _consent_. Every step of the way, you make sure the other guy- or girl, I guess-" he added, shrugging his shoulders- "is safe and happy and enjoying it just as much as you are. And that's what you gotta do with Tweek."

Craig initially sighed and rolled his eyes at Kenny's words, as "How does kinky shit apply to my relationship, dumbass?" flashed through his thoughts.

However, the more he thought about it, the more he began to think that, perverted as he was, Kenny had a point. Craig had assumed Tweek was mostly better than how he had been when they were young, without bothering to make sure that really was the case, and he realized now that more communication might have prevented Tweek's suffering. He sighed as he had done several times already, but this sigh was different: deep and anguished.

"You're right, McCormick. And Kyle was right too. I just wish I'd realized it sooner."

A high-pitched and slightly nasal voice replied from across the room, "I didn't know I was so important to you that you talk about me while I'm gone."

Kyle poked his head through the now-open door, then stepped into the bedroom.

"Hey, dude! Nice to see ya again," Kenny warmly said, smiling at the newcomer.

"You too. How's he doing?"

"Oh, he's fine. I just dropped a truth bomb on him," Kenny bragged in response.

"Yes, he tends to need those from time to time."

"Hey! I'm right here, ya know," Craig irritatedly piped up from his bed.

Turning back to Craig, the ginger acknowledged him with an, "Oh, right. I'm sure you want to know how Tweek is doing. Stan told me everything, and it-"

Impatiently, Craig interrupted, "Yeah, yeah. Just tell me," and sat up.

"It...doesn't look good," he sighed, running a hand through his hair, and continued, "Physically, he's fine- just a bit of fatigue and a few bruises. But, well, emotionally…suffice to say, he's not at his best."

"What's wrong with him?" the blue-clad teen worriedly spouted.

"Let me start at the beginning. Stan got to Tweek's house as fast as he could, and he went in."

The other two leaned forward as Kyle began his story, Craig even taking off his hat and brushing his hair away from his ears to make sure he heard everything. He nervously waited for his caretaker to tell him of his beloved golden child's state.

"So Stan went into Tweek's bedroom to check in on him, and asked how he was doing…"


	8. Chapter 8- Strange Bedfellows

**Chapter 8: Strange Bedfellows**

Tweek was lying in the fetal position, in a black and infinite space. Surrounded by shadowy figures, all he could do was cry out in fear and despair. He soon saw a familiar light in the distance that slowly got closer; it promised warmth, hope, and peace. The boy allowed himself to get his hopes up as Craig approached him, wreathed in the light, but he already knew how this would end. Once Craig reached him, he looked down, scoffed at the pitiful state Tweek was in, and walked away.

His voice full of misery, Tweek cried out, "C-Craig, wait! Please don't leave me here all alone...CRAIG!"

As he screamed his love's name, his eyes shot open. Realizing the ordeal had only been a dream, he took a deep breath and attempted to determine his surroundings. He soon realized he was lying in his bed and drenched in sweat, and he could hear the sound of soft footsteps drifting into his room and getting closer with every step.

Tweek's barely-awoken and storm-tossed mind immediately assumed the worst, and he desperately looked around for something with which to defend himself from whoever might be invading his home. His eyes darted around the room and landed on a small hairbrush nearby, and he quickly snatched it up, gently stood up, and walked to the door, wielding the brush in both hands. The doorknob turned to the left carefully, and the door slowly swung open, letting out a quiet creak as it did. Tweek let out a high-pitched cry and charged toward the figure in the doorway, bringing the brush down hard on the head of the person standing there.

"Ow! Dude, what the hell?!" yelled a familiar voice.

Tweek glanced at the figure and immediately gasped and dropped the brush at his feet. It was Stan, who was rubbing the top of his head and wincing slightly.

"Oh, God, agh...sorry, Stan," he mumbled.

"It's fine, it's fine. I'm more worried about you. That's why I'm here, actually; I'm supposed to check on you and make sure you're doing okay," the other teenager responded.

"Clearly, you're healthy enough to walk around," he continued, and chuckled a little before saying, "You should lay back down, though."

"R-right…" Tweek earnestly answered as he walked back to his bed and laid down again.

Stan picked up the brush, walked closer to Tweek, and set it on his bedside table. The brunette smiled at the blonde and stretched his arms above his head absentmindedly.

"Well, the good news is, you're not too beat up! You didn't get hurt that bad by that storm, as far as we can tell. How are ya feeling?" he spoke in a chipper tone.

Tweek glanced down at his lap, then hugged his knees close to his chest. He needed to take some time to think about how to answer, as he wasn't quite sure how he was feeling himself. After about a minute, he sighed a little and resumed eye contact with Stan.

"Not, um...not the best. Pretty far from the best, actually- I feel horrible."

Stan nodded and leaned forward a little.

"Well, that's what I'm here to help with. Tell me about it."

Tweek gave a small, bitter laugh and answered, "Where do I start? I mean, I just created a giant storm and hurt my friends...and Cartman."

"Oh, that?" Stan responded with a dismissive wave of his hand. "So you freaked out and your powers went haywire. It wasn't your fault, and Clyde and Craig are gonna be fine. Kyle's with Craig now, actually."

"Maybe so, but I couldn't help Craig enough in that fight…he probably hates me even more now," the prone boy sighed, looking downwards again.

Tweek fully laid back, in a dejected manner.

"Whoa, whoa, what's this about Craig hating you?" Stan worriedly asked, pushing his hands palm-first towards Tweek twice, in a slightly confused way.

"If he didn't hate me before, he certainly does now…" Tweek lamented. "First he didn't sit with me at lunch, then he...well, you read _Hamlet_ too, right? You know that poem Hamlet writes for Ophelia?"

"The one where he's all 'Oh, no matter what happens, you can always be sure I love you?'"

"Yeah, that. Well, I told Craig that was how I felt about him, and he didn't say he felt the same way."

Stan laughed softly and slowly reached toward Tweek to put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure he feels that way and just didn't think to say it-"

"But what if he doesn't?!" Tweek shot back, pushing Stan's hand off of him and glaring as his voice became more emotional. "Craig _always_ says what's on his mind! Besides, even if you guys forgive me for not protecting him and making that storm, he won't! I _know_ he won't! He could have died because of me…"

Tweek's head drooped down and he sobbed quietly. Though the material storm he caused had abated, that tempest of negativity still raged inside him.

After a few moments of sobbing, he looked back up and turned to Stan.

"So if I feel the way that poem said about Craig, that means I'm Hamlet and he's Ophelia...you know what happens next in the play?"

Mulling it over for a moment, Stan responded, "Um...yeah. Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius, so Ophelia goes insane and drowns herself."

"Yeah, exactly," Tweek whispered in response.

"Tweek…" the standing boy murmured compassionately as the prone one shuddered and emitted shaky breaths.

"Look, I think you're overreacting a little. Craig'll forgive you! Doesn't he always?"

"He just _says_ he does to make me feel better. I'm sure of it."

Stan let out a quiet sigh and glanced down and to the left, unsure of how to proceed. Suddenly, a strange bulge appeared in his jacket pocket, and began moving and making high-pitched squeaking noises.

"Whoa, what the…?" Stan yelled.

A white-and-brown object leaped out of his jacket, appearing only as a blur. Tweek gasped and threw up his hands to protect himself, but the blur only landed on Tweek's lap. He uncovered his eyes and stared at the object, then gasped as he saw what it was.

"Stripe!" he cried happily, a smile lighting up his face despite his sadness.

Stripe squeaked more, and Tweek thought that the guinea pig almost seemed happy to see him.

"He must have jumped into my pocket when I was at Craig's place," Stan mused aloud.

Tweek softly pet his guinea pig and said, "It's good to see ya, little buddy. I just wish it'd been in better circumstances," then sighed again.

Stripe walked up Tweek's torso and stood on his chest, squeaked quietly, and softly nuzzled against his owner. The golden child gave another sad smile, and Stan took the opportunity to lean closer and speak comfortingly again.

"See, Tweek? Stripe loves ya. And I'm sure Craig does too."

Tweek was silent, and Stan took this to mean he could continue- and continue he did, with "Look, I've been through tough shit, too, man. I'm _still_ a cynical bastard," he laughed. "So I know how to get you out of this funk. See, when I was down on my luck, Kyle and the others helped me, but I had to get through the hard times myself, y'know? You can get help from Craig, or me, or whoever...but in the end, you have to climb your way out of your problems on your own. We can't do that for you."

"That just makes it worse," Tweek responded, his head hanging low again. "I'm not strong enough to work through my problems by myself. No matter how much help I get, I'll always be a screw-up."

His compassionate nature taking over, Stan stuttered a little as he desperately tried to find something to talk about that might help Tweek.

"W-well, uh...why don't we talk about something happy?" he offered, smiling kindly once again as his voice cracked nervously. "Like, uh, you like talking about Craig! How did you and him get together?"

Tweek made a soft humming sound under his breath and glanced upward to think.

"Oh, those Asian girls started drawing pictures of us together- they still do, I think," he answered, a soft blush appearing on his cheeks. "Everyone thought we were dating, and we wanted to stop it, so Craig said we should pretend to break up. I thought I couldn't do it, but Craig helped me. He said, 'You're capable of so much more than you realize.' And knowing that he was my friend, that he believed in me…"

Tweek couldn't help but smile at this part, and seemed to sit up a little. Stan smiled faintly as well.

"It really helped, y'know? Then we did the fake breakup, and it worked, but everyone was really sad, and angry at poor Craig...I felt awful. So I went to him and said I wanted to help him like he had helped me, but he asked me to leave. But soon, he came up to me while I was walking in the street and he held my hand, and we went to his house and played video games together, and…"

Tweek interrupted himself with a small sob and wiped a tear from his eye.

"Sorry. It just made me so happy...I'll never forget that day as long as I live. 'Cause that was when we started dating for real. He said he really did like me, and I liked him too. But now…now I've gone and fucked it all up."

Stan groaned a little under his breath and leaned forward again.

"Why don't you try and get some sleep?" he offered. "Maybe then you can get your thoughts in order. Just think about that day for me, okay? Think about all the fun stuff you did together and how happy you were when he confessed to you."

"A-all right, I'll try." Tweek shut his eyes and laid back, as Stripe curled up on Tweek's chest, laid down, and began to breathe in and out softly.

"Is it working?" Stan inquired in a lowered volume.

"Yeah...I remember how he hugged me and told me how cute and sweet he thought I was...and I said…"

Tweek's voice trailed off as he drifted into sleep, and the small guinea pig on his chest followed suit. Stan stood up, quietly walked to the door, and glanced back at the sleeping golden child.

"Poor kid. I hope Butters does a better job taking care of him than I did," he sighed, and exited the room.

Some time later, Tweek's eyes slowly opened. He yawned and sat up, expecting to see Craig laying next to him, but found he was alone.

"Just a happy dream…and 'when I waked, I cried to dream again,'" he murmured to himself.

A gentle knock sounded at the door. The blond jumped at first, but then exhaled deeply and responded "It's unlocked, come in."

The door slowly opened as another blond-haired teen poked his head in and proceeded to step into the room. It was Butters, and he was smiling kindly at Tweek.

"Howdy, Tweek. Stan sent me to check on ya and make sure you're doin' alright," he said in his gentle and Southern-tinged voice. "Everything doing okay?"

"Butters…" Tweek murmured softly.

He seemed to collect his thoughts for a moment before smiling widely and responding, "Yeah, couldn't be better! There's nothing to worry about."

"Really?" Butters asked inquisitively, and a bit suspiciously, as he began approaching the other boy.

"Y-yeah, really! Honest!" he lied, but his smile soon began to falter.

"Aw, c'mon, Tweek. You don't have to lie to make me feel better. You can tell me anything, and I'll do my darndest to help ya!" Butters reassured; he began to smile as well, but his smile was genuine, warm, and kind.

Tweek longingly gazed down at Stripe and reached out a hand to gently pet him.

"Thank you, Butters. I know you and Stan mean well, but it's better to just leave me alone. I mean...that storm was caused by my raw emotions, because I couldn't control them. So during it, I should've been at my worst, right? But I wasn't. Even though it's gone, I feel even worse now…If after every tempest come such calms, may the winds blow till they have wakened death," he said, softly and wistfully.

Butters made an unintelligible, vague sound; Tweek couldn't quite describe it, but he could tell it was a sound of pity and mourning.

"Oh, hamburgers…" he sighed, but almost immediately perked up again and said, "Don'tcha worry, Tweek! I'll tell Stan you're not doin' too good right now, and we'll fix this!"

At that, the innocent boy retrieved his Hello-Kitty-cased phone and quickly typed out a message, narrating it aloud as he went: "'Dear Stan, Tweek isn't doing much better. Please tell Kyle. I'll help comfort him for now. Your best pal, Butters.' And...send!" he concluded as he pressed one final time on the keyboard and returned his phone to the pocket of his jeans.

"Now, don't worry about nothing, Tweek," Butters continued compassionately, leaning a little closer to the other blond.

In response, Tweek began to sob quietly; tears soon streamed down his face as his thin body was wracked by stronger sobs and heaves.

"Wh-what am I gonna do, Butters? Craig- the one person who can truly help me, the one I love more than anything- there's no way he'll love me now!"

Tweek turned to the side and curled up in the fetal position, and Stripe pattered over to his face. As Butters gently patted his shoulder and whispered comforting words, and Stripe worriedly squeaked and nuzzled against his face, that wicked storm- the winds of self-hate, rain of despair, clouds of doubt- only grew stronger, and the broken boy wept.


	9. Chapter 9- Daybreak (Smut Warning)

**Chapter 9: Daybreak**

"...And that's what Stan told me."

Craig held a hand to his mouth as Kyle finished his story.

"He's 'not doing much better'? What does that mean?!" he cried.

"I don't know either, but it's obviously not good," Kyle sighed. "Poor Tweek…"

"Damn…" muttered Kenny.

The three sat in mournful silence for some time, before Craig leaped up, throwing the blankets off of his legs in the process.

"Well, I'm not gonna stick around here trying to figure it out! I'm going to see him!" he announced.

With that, he marched out of the room and soon took off running, out of the house and towards Tweek's.

The two were once again silent, but Kenny soon broke it by saying, "We, uh...we _are_ going after him, right?"

"Oh, of course," Kyle nonchalantly answered; they quickly sprung up and ran out as well.

Craig softly panted as he dashed through the suburban streets, the air filling his lungs and sending a stabbing cold through him with every breath. His chullo was nearly blown off his head by a strong wind, but he quickly grabbed at it, held it tightly onto his head, and continued his desperate run.

"Fuck, fuck, fucking shit, goddamnit!" he swore aloud, stopping to catch his breath and kick at a mound of snow.

The teen growled under his breath, but gasped quietly as he saw the snow scatter in the air and glimmer in the sun. Memories of the other day floated to the front of his thoughts- Tweek's overexcitedness when they saw each other at the end of the day, as if they had been apart for a long time; his sobbing after the end of Hamlet; his nightmare- and Craig realized how stupid he had been to not realize the signs of Tweek's doubts. He kicked at the snow again and colorfully cursed aloud several more times, as Kyle and Kenny caught up to him, panting.

Tilting his head, Craig asked the two of them, "What are you doing?"

"We're...hah...following you, dumbass," answered Kyle, still panting and slightly hunched over.

"Yeah, we're not just letting you run off to save your boyfriend without some help," Kenny encouraged, a warm smile on his face despite his fatigue. "And I know you probably still hate Kyle and Stan, and maybe me, after the Peru thing…"

Craig scoffed and found himself unable to hold back his amusement; after a few seconds of boisterous laughter, he took a deep breath of the freezing air and answered, "The fuckin' _Peru_ thing? Jesus, how dumb do ya have to be, McCormick? That was years ago- and besides, you guys just took care of me when I got beaten to a pulp and ran out into the freezing cold to help me. I may be an uncaring asshole, but I remember when people help me. You guys are asshats, but you're _my_ asshats. And some stupid birthday money's not gonna change that."

"Of course he doesn't still hate us, you retard," Kyle teased.

"Yeah, yeah...shut up," the hoodie-wearing boy mumbled and looked down shamefully. "Guess the writers were feelin' sappy today…"

Kyle tilted his head and asked "What?", clearly confused.

"Oh, uh, nothin'.'

"Great, we're all the best of friends. Now let's go help Tweek!" cried Craig as he began sprinting down the street once again, and the other two teenagers followed.

Tweek, meanwhile, sniffled and continued to cry, still curled up on his bed as Butters and Stripe futilely tried to comfort him. The door to the bedroom soon swung open again, and Stan stepped in, adjusting his poof-ball hat.

"Still hurting?" he whispered sympathetically.

Butters turned to him and nodded; his eyes were a little red and puffy.

"I'm awful sorry, Stan. I just felt so bad for him, I couldn't help but-"

"Don't worry, I understand," he interrupted as he made his way to the opposite side of the bed as Butters. "You can take a break. I'll look after him for-"

The two of them jumped as a loud crashing sound came from the living room. Tweek, it seemed, did not hear, lost as he was in sorrow.

Butters quickly stood up, said, "I'll go get that," and walked out of the room.

He took a deep breath and quietly walked down the stairs, his fists clenched to defend himself in case of an attack. However, as he entered the living room, he found only Craig, with Kyle and Kenny standing behind him.

"O-oh, Craig! I guess you're here to visit Tweek, huh? He's upstairs in his room."

Craig nodded and pushed his way past Butters and up the stairs, followed by Kyle who gave a polite nod, and Kenny who smiled flirtatiously and stopped in front of the innocent child.

"Hey, cutie. Betcha must be tired from takin' care of Tweek, right? Maybe I could take ya out to- ah!"

Kenny's attempt at flirting was interrupted as Kyle grabbed his hood and pulled him up the stairs.

Tweek slowly opened his eyes, which were red and puffy from crying, to Stan, who smiled kindly.

"Hey, Tweek. You look a little worse for wear."

Tweek sniffled and coughed in response, trying to catch his breath.

Stan continued, "I don't know how much we can help, but you know you can always come to us. I promise."

His mind still being ravaged by the storm, Tweek managed to choke out in a weak and high-pitched voice, "B-b-but, y-you said I needed to s-solve my problems on my own eventually...and I'm too weak for that. I couldn't even-"

"Babe, you are _not_ weak."

Stan gasped, then sighed in what sounded like relief, and Tweek slowly lifted his head and turned toward the doorway, where the voice had come from.

"C...Craig?" he whispered hoarsely, in disbelief.

The noirette entered the room and stood near the doorway, and was soon once again followed by Kyle and Kenny, then by Butters.

"Everyone, get the hell out. Me and Tweek need to be alone," Craig commanded, his voice serious and stoic.

Kyle and Stan immediately walked out of the room; Kenny followed, wrapping his arm around Butters and pulling him close. The four walked down the stairs into the living room as Craig shut the door behind them. Kyle and Stan sat on Tweek's couch next to each other, while Kenny sat on an armchair and pulled a furiously blushing Butters onto one of its arms. Narrowing his eyes just as he had during the earlier battle, he began to say, "Y'know, Buttercup, you're pretty cute when you're blushin' like that-"

Kyle and Stan glared at him, the former asking, " _Really_? Is now _really_ the time?".

Kyle's voice was both irritated and solemn.

Kenny sighed in a melancholic fashion and let go of Butters, who didn't move from his position.

"Gosh, I hope Tweek's gonna be okay," Butters worried aloud.

Stan quickly reassured him, "We've taken care of them and given them advice- we've done all we can do, Butters."

Kyle chimed in with, "Now we just have to hope they can work this out."

The four sat in contemplative silence, waiting with bated breath for the outcome of their friends' conversation.

As Craig ordered the others to leave and shut the door, Tweek began to run through all the possibilities of why Craig was acting the way he was- most of them negative.

"A-a-alone? Wh-why does he want to be alone? Is he mad at me? Oh, who am I kidding- of _course_ he's mad at me! I knew he would hate me, and now he's going to say it to my face…" he thought to himself in a panicked tone.

Tweek became aware of itches all over his body that stung and burned painfully. He began to desperately scratch at them, leaving red nail marks and light cuts, and to twitch quite violently. Craig turned to face him.

"Wh-wh-what is it, C-Craig?" Tweek nervously stammered out.

Craig let out a small gasp as he saw the state his love was in. He was twitching heavily and clawing at his skin, and his eyes were still red, with tears beginning to stream down his face once again. He hadn't seen Tweek twitch like that in a long time; normally Craig's mere presence was enough to alleviate his physical tics, and the change to his parents' coffee had helped to an extent as well.

"If he's twitching that bad...I can't imagine what he's going through on the inside," he thought.

As he stared at his spastic lover and pondered the suffering he must have been experiencing, Craig felt that his heart would break then and there from the pain of it all.

He took a deep breath and began to approach Tweek, starting his speech with, "Babe, Stan told Kyle what happened, and then Kyle told me. Look, I-"

"You hate me, I know. You just came here to tell me that, so I'd quit hoping we still had a chance and torturing myself with it. Right?"

"Babe…"

"E-e-even when you're mad at me, you still care for me so much...and that's why you're too good for me."

Tweek's voice was once again interrupted by sobs.

"Babe-"

"I-I-I j-j-just screw up e-everything…"

"Tweek, _listen to me_!"

The twitching boy gasped in shock and looked up towards Craig; the power in that voice seemed to snap him back to reality. The clouds faded away slightly, and the rain began to fall a little less hard. His eyes seemed clearer as Craig looked into them.

As Tweek spoke, Craig found himself growing irritated and clenched his fist, but soon quashed these feelings, reminding himself that Tweek was not thinking rationally. He had already learned that offering solutions didn't work with Tweek, and he needed to take an emotional approach. He approached his boyfriend and kneeled down slightly to place a hand on his left cheek.

"I'm not mad. I could never stay mad at you," he spoke in a gentle voice.

"B-but, I didn't do enough to protect you...and I hurt everybody…"

Craig smiled and responded, "It's okay, really. If anything, _I_ didn't do enough to protect _you_. And the others won't stay mad at ya either. You're too sweet for that. Look, I'm not good with words, but…" Craig sighed as he struggled to find something to say. "Remember what I said the other day? No monsters are gonna get ya as long as I'm here. And whether that means Crab People, or monsters in your dreams, or those evil monsters that get in your head and tell you you're anything less than perfect...I'll be there to fight 'em off, and I'll help ya be strong enough to fight 'em off yourself when you need to."

His voice shaking, Tweek whispered, "You...you promise?"

"I promise."

The kneeling one kept his hand on his boyfriend's cheek and gently grasped Tweek's hand with his own, slowly standing up and helping the other stand as well.

As Craig spoke, Tweek heard the sincerity in his voice, and the storm began to fade further- but it still continued on, not ceasing yet, and those hateful winds seemed to drive the words, "Y-you're probably just saying that to make me feel better," from Tweek's lips as he averted his eyes down and to the left.

Craig let out a soft sigh before rebutting, "Babe, you know me better than anybody. I never lie, especially not to people I care about- and you're one of the few people I _do_ care about. Kyle and Kenny and all them are nice and all, but you're the only one who I'd give up everything for. You make me want to _believe_ in something, Tweek."

The two stared into each other's eyes, both lost in them- Tweek transfixed by Craig's emerald green and Craig mesmerized by Tweek's sky blue- and for the first time in as long as Tweek could remember, he saw Craig begin to cry, and his voice broke as he continued, "I don't want you to be hurt like this ever again."

"And...if that's not enough proof for ya…" the black-haired teen added, wiping his tears off on the sleeve of his coat, "Then maybe this'll be."

Craig clasped Tweek's head in his hands, leaned forward, and deeply kissed him. Caught by surprise, the latter blushed heavily as Craig's slightly chapped lips pressed against his own, and Craig marveled at how soft Tweek's felt. The blonde felt everything that was troubling him- his doubt, his sadness, his resentment of himself- begin to melt away; Craig's kisses had always had that effect on him. He never felt more safe and loved than when Craig was holding him close and kissing him- and love was exactly what he needed right now.

Craig soon pulled away, his tears gone. Tweek had stopped crying as well, as the storm had almost faded at this point.

"Craig…" he mumbled, then threw his arms around his lover and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Craig," he whispered in his ear.

"You don't need to thank me, babe. Like I said, I'm always here for you," Craig said kindly as he hugged Tweek back, gently burying his face into his spiky hair.

"I promise I'll be strong for you, honey...I'd do anything for you," the blonde solemnly swore, before pulling away.

A warm smile lit up his face, and both felt happiness fill their hearts.

"You know, your hair smells nice, Tweek."

Tweek giggled slightly and responded, "You're such a dork,". However, his happiness soon faded, as he sighed and hung his head, saying, "I-I'm sorry for being so unreasonable. I know, logically, in my head, that you love me, but...sometimes it's hard to convince my heart."

"Babe, it's fine. Really. I mean, you know what they say: 'The course of true love never did run smooth,'".

Tweek looked back up, softly smiling again.

"That's _Midsummer Night's Dream_ , right?"

"Yep. Remember when ya read it to me?"

"And you fell asleep…you looked so peaceful," Tweek giggled. "Hey, remember that other time I was freaking out? About North Korea?"

"Oh, yeah! Those were the best cupcakes I ever had," the noirette responded, grinning widely.

Tweek gasped and playfully hit Craig's arm, crying out, "You _ate_ some?! Those were for the North Koreans, you big dumbass!"

"Yep! And they were _delicious_ ," the other teased as he leaned forward.

" _Craig_!" came the response, and Tweek sighed, "Well, don't worry. I'll make you more whenever you want."

"You're the best, babe. Ya remember the song? _Put it down_..." Craig sang in a deep baritone.

" _Don't be on your phone while being president_ ," the other sang in his gentle, high-pitched tenor. "And no, _you're_ the best," the coffee lover giggled, leaning closer to his love.

Craig responded with a quick peck on Tweek's nose, causing him to blush again.

"A-at least kiss me on the lips…"

Craig grinned and acquiesced, once again pressing his lips to Tweek's- though a bit harder this time. The latter blushed harder, and began to feel that something other than his worry was melting away: his inhibitions.

As Craig pulled back, Tweek leaned forward and kissed him passionately, not letting their contact stop.

"Mmf…" Craig mumbled, then pulled away again, leaving Tweek panting softly. "Babe, what's up with you?"

His face flushed bright red, Tweek responded, "Oh, s-sorry, Craig. It's just, well, you got me kind of, y'know…" He glanced down and whispered, " _excited_ ,".

"Oh...oh, I gotcha," Craig grinned. "So sweet, gentle Tweek's gettin' horny, huh?"

"Y-yeah...sorry…"

He tried to encourage Tweek with a, "Hey, don't apologize. I'm happy to help ya out. I just wanna make sure you're up for it- I mean, we haven't done anything like that before."

"I-I know, but I want to try," Tweek said in a hopeful manner. "Please, show me what to do," he implored, staring earnestly up at Craig.

In response, Craig gently kissed Tweek's lips again, then both his cheeks, which were hot from his blush. He placed one hand on the blonde's lower back and one on his hair, intertwining his fingers in Tweek's golden locks and pulling him close. Though Craig was loath to admit it, he was enjoying seeing Tweek get so flustered.

"You know, babe, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were teasin' me on purpose these past few days. Snugglin' me super close while we slept, showin' off that cute ass of yours in your costume…" Craig teased, narrowing his eyes and moving his hand down to grab a handful of Tweek's considerably plump rear.

Tweek gave a soft "Agh" and pleaded, "Craig…please do whatever you want to me. I just want to make you feel good."

Tweek began to imagine what would happen next. The thought of Craig kissing him deeply, gently fondling his body, and of Tweek making his lover moan- imagining the pleasure he could make Craig feel, if he did as he was told and let Craig take the lead- made him more aroused than he had ever been, and eager to please. His member steadily grew erect, pushing against the fabric of his jeans and twitching slightly.

"Don't worry, sweetheart," the taller of the two leaned in close to whisper in the other's left ear. "I'm gonna make sure you get the best orgasm of your life."

He slowly ran his tongue over the smaller boy's ear and administered small kisses, causing the latter to softly inhale. He continued this for some time before gently biting down on his earlobe; Tweek gasped and shuddered slightly from the stimulus.

Craig quickly made sure to ask, "Did I hurt ya, babe?"

"No...i-i-it feels g-good...sooo good..." Tweek moaned, involuntarily pressing closer to the stronger boy. "P-p-pleeease don't stop…"

"Whatever you say, babe."

Craig slowly moved his hands to Tweek's hips, rubbing them softly- through his dark green shirt at first, but he soon slipped his hands under the fabric to touch Tweek's bare skin.

"Y-y-your hands are warm, C-Craig…I-I want you to t-t-touch me more…"

Craig was all too happy to oblige. Gently pushing the collar of Tweek's shirt to the side, he leaned down, pressed his lips to the thin teen's neck, near his collarbone, and began gently sucking.

"Ahh!" Tweek cried loudly.

Overcome with arousal and pleasure, he threw his head back, exposing more of his neck. Craig took the opportunity to apply more kisses and hickeys to Tweek's soft and tender skin, the latter squirming.

"Quit t-t-teasing meeee!" Tweek cried; he desperately grabbed Craig's hat and threw it onto the ground near the door.

"Babe! What was that for?"

"Ah, sorry! I-I just thought, what if you're actually an alien that feeds on sexual energy and your hat is hiding the device you're using to appear human?"

Tweek blushed deeply, seeming embarrassed- but also more aroused now that Craig's hat was off.

"Well, as long as it's off, get your cute little ass over there and hang it on the doorknob outside. Then they'll know not to bug us," requested Craig.

The twitchy teen nodded and walked to where he had thrown the hat. As he bent over to pick it up, he playfully shook his ass from side to side.

Craig grinned, enjoying the sight of his boyfriend's defined behind wrapped tightly by the fabric of his jeans.

"Whatcha doin' there?" he asked.

Tweek responded, "Teasing! If you did it to me, I get to do it to you."

"What I'm doing is called foreplay. What you're doing is called being a cocktease."

Tweek opened his mouth to speak, intending to apologize, but decided against it. Instead, he picked up the hat, opened the door, and leaned out to hang the hat on the knob before closing the door. The skinnier boy turned back to Craig, who was narrowing his eyes, locks of black hair falling over his face. Seeing his hair and bedroom eyes, Tweek's arousal immediately came flooding back.

"Now that that's done...what do ya say we get this started for real?" smiled the noirette.

Craig then unzipped his coat, slid it off, and tossed it aside, revealing his blue shirt with a large NASA logo- which was soon taken off as well. His muscular upper body now visible, he stretched his arms above his head and flexed slightly to further expose himself.

"Wow…" Tweek murmured breathlessly.

"Yep. Workin' out really helps."

"I bet ya started doing it 'cause I beat you in that fight," Tweek teased.

"Maaaybe. Why don't you take yours off, babe?"

Tweek reached down to unbutton his shirt, but fumbled with the buttons, unable to get it off, and soon began glaring and sniffling. Luckily, his love stepped closer to him, looked down at him kindly, and gently placed his hands onto Tweek's, helping him undo the buttons and slide his shirt off. Craig then began gently rubbing Tweek's curvy hips again, then hooked his thumbs into Tweek's waistband to pull his jeans down slightly. He exhaled a little as his hipbones were exposed.

"It's super hot seein' your clothes slipping off like that."

Tweek's pants were indeed beginning to fall further down his body, revealing the waistband of his white underwear.

"C'mon, C-C-Craig...f-foreplay's nice and all, but n-now you're just t-t-teasing me. It's kinda starting to h-hurt…"

He gestured to his crotch; his erection was clearly visible, and beginning to get quite hot as it chafed against his clothes. He squirmed in discomfort.

Craig nodded and admitted, "Yeah, I'm getting a bit pent up myself."

His bulge was clearly stretching the fabric of his tight, dark blue skinny jeans. However, he soon slid them down and kicked them off to the side, and Tweek followed suit.

"Much better," Tweek sighed with relief, as the two of them stepped closer to one another.

"Yep. But it'd probably be even better if you took your underwear off too."

Tweek gulped softly; though he was still horny and wanted to please Craig, he couldn't help but feel nervous at the thought of continuing.

Craig, however, felt just the opposite; he could not think of anything he would rather do than make love to Tweek. The blonde deserved pleasure after all the emotional strife he had been through- and of course, he wanted to feel some pleasure himself.

"You okay, babe?" he asked, concerned.

"Y-y-yeah...I r-really want this, but...what if I s-screw it up?" mumbled the other in an embarrassed fashion.

"Tweek, I told you. I'd never stay mad at you. 'Sides, you told me to show ya what to do, and I will. I'll guide you through everything, promise. You just focus on being your adorable feisty self-"

"I-I-I'm not feisty! Feisty's bad!" Tweek cried.

Craig reassured him, "Feisty is cute. Especially when you know the feisty person wouldn't hurt anyone unless they deserved it."

Tweek smiled and nodded, saying, "A-all right...I-I'll try. B-b-besides, I c-couldn't say no after y-you got me all...well, t-t-turned on."

Craig reached down, sliding his gray boxers off and tossing them aside. Tweek gasped slightly as the black-haired teen's cock sprung free; it was quite large, and throbbed slightly as a few small droplets of precum oozed from the tip.

"I-i-i-it's h-h-huge…" he stammered in shock.

Craig grinned and responded, "Yep. About...8 inches? 8 and a half? Something like that- last time I checked, anyway," clearly confident.

"I-I-I dunno if I can t-take all that, C-Craig…"

"If you can't take it all, that's fine. I get it, it's hard- especially since it's your first time and all."

Tweek took a deep breath.

"Okay...N-no going back now…" he thought as he slowly reached down and pulled his white briefs off, revealing his own hard cock.

Craig glanced at it and nodded approvingly. Based on his reckoning, it was about 5 inches long, and a little precum dripped from it as well.

"S-s-sorry, I know it's not that big…"

"Mm, it's fine," Craig said, a soft growl escaping his lips as he stared at Tweek's pleasantly curvy body. "I'm more interested in _this_."

As he said this, he walked forward and wrapped his arms around Tweek, pulling him close and grabbing a handful of his ass again. The latter let out a small "eep".

"What position do you wanna do, babe?"

"U-um, I-I'm not sure…"

"That's fine, I'll pick," Craig responded, grinning playfully. "Missionary sounds good. I'd love to stare into those pretty eyes while I make you cum harder than you ever have before."

Tweek let out a soft breath at that before he walked to his bed and laid down on his back.

"Like this?"

"Perfect. Spread your legs a little while I…"

Craig darted his eyes around, trying to remember where he had put the necessary items. He soon recalled the spot, and kneeled down to open a drawer on Tweek's dresser, pulling out a box of condoms and a moderately large bottle of lube.

Surprised and a little embarrassed, Tweek cried, "W-w-wait a minute, why d-did you keep those in _m-m-my_ room?"

Tapping a finger to his temple, Craig cryptically answered "Just in case."

"Y-you p-perv...you're w-w-worse than K-Kenny."

"Maybe I am a perv, but ya still love me," Craig teased, taking a condom out of the box and sliding it over his length; he then poured some of the lube out into his right hand and rubbed it onto the latex.

"I'm gonna need to use some lube on you too, 'kay, babe?" he asked, squeezing a bit more onto his hand, then putting the box and bottle back into the dresser.

Tweek nodded. The noirette moved toward him and asked him to turn over, which he promptly did.

Craig stared at Tweek's ass, enraptured. Kenny had been right: he did indeed have a very nice ass. It was large and round, surprisingly feminine, and jiggled pleasantly. Craig softly rubbed it, occasionally giving it a light squeeze, causing Tweek to blush and giggle slightly.

"C-cut it out…"

"C'mon, Tweek, I'm an ass man. You can't expect me to see an ass like that and not touch it a little," Craig teased as he gently rubbed a finger against Tweek's entrance.

"W-w-well, I-I'm glad you l-l-like it."

The stronger boy slowly slid his finger inside his boyfriend, who gasped a little, and moved it in a clockwise direction in an attempt to apply the lubricant and make it easier to continue. He soon slid a second finger in, repeating this motion, until he believed Tweek was sufficiently prepared.

Tweek, meanwhile, started to breathe a little heavier as Craig did his work. He had never done anything related to anal play at all- though he made sure to keep himself clean, he worried he might accidentally hurt himself- so this was his first time putting anything...in there. It hurt, but it wasn't entirely unpleasant, and he didn't want to displease Craig, so he let his boyfriend proceed despite his discomfort, pushing his face into a pillow to muffle the noises he was making.

"You can turn back over now, babe."

Tweek quickly turned face up and spread his legs once again.

"Y-y-you can d-do your thing now, h-honey," he said, a little nervously, but trying to put on a brave face.

Craig gripped Tweek's hips and gently rubbed his erection against the other's asshole. He gently reached down to spread him wider with his thumbs, before inserting his tip into Tweek. He heard the twitchy blonde inhale softly and paused, but seeing no tears or discomfort in Tweek's eyes, he continued.

Tweek himself felt a small twinge of pain as Craig entered him; he tried to ignore it, but as his boyfriend's large cock slid in further, stretching out his virgin ass, he couldn't stop himself from crying out "Agh!"

"You okay?" Craig asked nervously.

"Um...y-yeah, I think so…"

"Just relax, babe. The more you relax, the easier it'll be," Craig said comfortingly, and continued to slide more in.

"O-okay, okay…" responded Tweek.

He began trying to relax, but the pain only grew stronger as Craig reached four inches in.

"G-gahhh! Craig, it huuurts!" he whined as tears began to appear in his blue eyes.

Growing a little irritated and worried for Tweek, Craig snapped, "Babe, I need you to calm down."

"I can't just calm down, Craig!" Tweek cried back, glaring at his boyfriend; he began twitching a bit more, growling softly under his breath.

The top sighed and sympathetically answered, "Okay, I'm sorry. Look, I know it hurts, but I promise you that in a second, it'll feel like nothing you've ever felt."

Scanning Craig's green eyes, Tweek saw nothing but honesty and compassion- not that he thought his Craig would ever lie to him, of course. He believed Craig, and nodded to show this, but still squirmed and whined in pain.

"Here, let's try this," the stronger teen suggested; he took Tweek's hands in his own and interlocked his fingers with his boyfriend's. "You can hold my hands as tight as you want- it won't hurt. It'll help you take out your stress on something."

The other kid squeezed his hands tightly, adding, "A-a-and maybe showing your l-love for m-me will help me c-c-calm down."

Craig nodded and continued to push in. Tweek's ass was incredibly tight, and it took a great deal of willpower not to release immediately. He was also deeply worried about hurting his lover, but hoped his solution would help a little.

"Man, poor Tweek. I hate seeing him all hurt," he said in his mind.

The hand holding did, in fact, seem to help Tweek; as Craig slowly pushed his throbbing cock deeper inside, the coffee lover grit his teeth and squeezed Craig's hands tightly, and found that it took his mind off some of the pain.

"Like Craig said, you need to be strong. If it'll make me and Craig feel good, I'll just have to endure it. Just a few more inches," he thought.

Both of them panted, sweat dripping on their palms and mixing together.

"U-um, h-h-how much is i-in now?" was asked.

Craig smiled down at him and responded, "That's all of it, babe! You did great!" proudly, then continued, "Should probably rest up for a minute before I start properly fucking ya, though."

"O-okay…" Tweek panted softly as he said this and tried to relax a bit more in order to get used to the feeling of such a large cock inside him.

After a minute of this, he looked back up at his beloved and nodded.

"O-okay, I-I'm r-ready."

Craig had to restrain himself from wildly thrusting into the blond boy. Instead, he gave an experimental thrust forward.

"Gah!"

Tweek had, thankfully, adjusted to the feeling at least somewhat, so the thrust didn't hurt as badly as he had been hurting a moment ago. It didn't feel completely bad; in fact, Tweek had felt a small flash of pleasure from the movement.

"Oh, that wasn't so bad!" he reported to Craig.

"Mm, perfect. I'm gonna keep going, babe. Remember, you can squeeze my hands harder if it gets bad- and we can stop if it's too much."

"I-it's okay, Craig…" Tweek said breathily. "Please keep going."

As Tweek's boyfriend stared into his beautiful blue eyes, he saw them shimmer with what, if he was correct, appeared to be lust- which made sense, considering the way he had reacted to all the foreplay and the fact that the blond's cock was still hard. A few small streams of precum were leaking down his shaft.

Craig thrust forward once again; both of them gasped aloud, Tweek from the sudden movement and Craig from the pleasure he felt as Tweek's ass squeezed his cock tightly.

"F-fuck, Tweek, you're so tight," he grunted.

Twitching slightly, Tweek asked, "I-is that g-good?", his voice wavering.

"It's _very_ good," Craig grinned before thrusting once more.

Tweek softly whined; he sounded slightly distressed, but there was a hint of desire in that sound as well.

"Problem is, it feels so good, I might cum right now. And I want…" he trailed off as he thrust forward again, "to make you…"- another thrust- "feel good too," and another.

At the last thrust, a flash of white appeared behind Tweek's eyes, and he moaned out "Ahh!"

Unable to keep his wry smile off his face, Craig inquired, "What is it?"

"O-oh, it's just, that f-felt, um, r-r-really g-good," his partner responded.

"Then I'll keep goin'."

He did indeed keep going, and sped up the movement of his hips to hit Tweek's prostate even faster and hopefully make him feel even better, and the sound of flesh slapping against flesh filled the room. Tweek tightened his grip on Craig's hands, began making rather high-pitched and feminine moaning sounds, and somehow became even more flushed- Craig didn't think it was possible for the blonde's face to get redder, but it did. He leaned a little closer, both their foreheads drenched with sweat, and his nose occasionally rubbed against Tweek's. The two of them breathed heavily, and each of their warm breaths hit the other's neck.

"C-C-Craig...it f-f-feels...s-sooooo good…"

"See? What'd I tell you?"

The two lovers stared into one another's eyes again; both of their irises shined with love and desire for one another. Craig let out occasional grunts and deep moans of pleasure, and Tweek's moans grew louder.

"Gah...fuck, babe, I think I'm gettin' close…" Craig growled through his gritted teeth, involuntarily shutting his eyes for a brief moment; however, he quickly opened them up again in order to maintain eye contact. "Uh, babe?"

Tweek didn't respond. The thin boy was utterly lost in the bliss Craig made him feel, and unable to think clearly through the haze of pleasure and arousal. All he knew was that he was with Craig, and that they loved each other.

And yet, somehow, he felt that that was all he ever needed to know.

"I'm so fuckin' close…" panted the muscular teen.

He reached down and placed his right hand around Tweek's twitching cock, making sure to keep a tight hold on his hand, and began gently stroking it, eliciting more moans from Tweek. Both their penises began to throb harder and grow hot.

Craig started to moan faster, then cried out "Tweek!" and grunted loudly, giving one final thrust as he achieved orgasm.

"CRAIG!" the other screamed lustfully.

As he felt Craig throb inside him, Tweek twitched and moaned, his mind overwhelmed with pleasure, and light white semen shot from his cock, flowing down Craig's hand. Craig continued to move his hand up and down Tweek's shaft to ride out his orgasm, and his own cum began to fill the condom he wore, warm and sticky. Both of them panted heavily, staring at one another for some time, too tired to move. Soon enough, however, Craig pulled out of his hole and Tweek softly whined. Craig removed the condom, tied it, and dropped it into the wastebasket Tweek kept near his bed, shaking the coffee lover's milky white liquid off his hand and into it as well.

The two embraced one another tightly, both sweaty and still a bit flushed.

Craig asked between breaths, "So? How was your first time?"

"I-incredible…" Tweek answered; his face was lit up with a smile as he continued, "I never wanted that feeling to stop. It felt so good, but there was more to it than that, you know? I felt connected to you- like we were the only two people in the world."

This was met with a "Good" and a brief kiss from Craig.

"So you really like how I look in my superhero costume, huh?"

"Yep. Hugs those cute curvy hips."

"M-m-my hips are not that f-feminine…" the embarrassed blonde mumbled.

"Babe, I was just feeling 'em up. Trust me, I know."

After a short pause, Craig added, "You know, they probably heard that scream you did at the end."

"G-God, that'd be so embarrassing...but you know what? Maybe it's a good thing if they heard. I love you, and I don't care who knows," Tweek said confidently, snuggling closer to Craig.

"Yep, we heard," came a voice from the doorway, which the two immediately recognized as Stan.

"Gah!" Tweek cried and buried his face into a pillow, blushing heavily and internally prepared to die of embarrassment.

"Take your hat back," Kyle added with a smirk.

He tossed the hat to Craig, who caught it and promptly put it back onto his head.

Kyle praised the two with, "Good thing you did that. I mean, what if we'd come in while you two were fucking?", then laughed slightly.

"Oh no, you might have seen Tweek's ass," Craig said sarcastically.

A flash of sandy blond hair appeared as Kenny poked his head in, interjecting, "Did somebody say somethin' about seeing Tweek's ass?"

"Maybe, if Craig says it's okay...but for now, it's all his," Tweek giggled.

Kenny groaned playfully, gave the two a friendly grin, and exited.

Stan added, "Glad to hear everything's fine, anyway."

Kyle concluded, "We'll get going now. We've got to make sure Clyde's okay, and I wanna get over to Cartman's before he recovers. Really kick him while he's down, you know."

"Give him an extra punch for me," Craig requested.

"And me!" his boyfriend piped up.

Smiling, the ginger promised, "I'll be sure to. You two take care."

Stan and Kyle waved goodbye and walked away.

Butters, who had been standing behind the two friends, kindly said "Bye!" before following the other three boys, shutting the door behind him.

"Now what was that about your ass bein' all mine?" grinned Craig as he grabbed it once again.

"Well, since you seem to love it so much...though yours isn't half bad either," teased Tweek; he then responded by reaching down and groping Craig's toned, muscular butt.

"Jeez, you're forward today."

"You said you wanted me to be feisty. This is me being feisty."

"There's the Tweek I know and love," the noirette smiled. "I'm proud of ya, babe. That's what I mean: you're so strong and brave. You just need to have as much faith in yourself as you do in me."

"I-I promised you I'd be strong, and so I will. I love you so much, Craig."

"I love you more."

"I love you to the moon and back."

"I love you to GN-z11 and back."

Tweek tilted his head and asked, "Huh? What's that?"

Staring at a point on the opposite wall and smiling widely, Craig answered, "A galaxy. It's the farthest astronomical object we can measure so far: 13.39 billion light-years away."

Tweek sighed dreamily and rested his head against Craig's muscular chest, and Craig responded by placing his hand on the back of Tweek's head and gently stroking his hair.

"I adore you, Craig...my raven-haired rebel," Tweek heard himself mumble, then immediately gasped and blushed once he realized what he had said.

"What was that, babe?" the other responded.

Knowing he couldn't lie now, Tweek sighed a little and mumbled, "I-it's just something I call you when I'm thinking about you. I-I'm sorry, I know that's weird-"

"No, that's super sweet!" Craig interrupted, looking down at the boy cuddling him and smiling. "I actually have a nickname for you, too: I call ya the 'golden child'."

"'Cause of my hair? Aww, you're making me blush."

"And 'cause of how sweet you are."

"Mm…"

Smiling widely, the two lovers- the raven-haired rebel and the golden child- held one another as tightly as they could. The storm inside Tweek was over, and the light of the sun, of happiness, shone where the clouds had once roiled. Both knew now, without a doubt, that they loved each other beyond words, and that they always would.

And soon, they slept, and dreamt of one another.


End file.
